"Several studies analysed in this paper show that messenger services facilitate and exacerbate the spread of disinformation. Any solution must make allowances for the complexity with which information spreads. The case studies show that a lack of trust in government is a key factor in the proliferat
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ion of disinformation, as is an increase in nationalism and its epiphenomena, including racism, sexism and anti-semitism. Additionally, a general loss of trust in journalism poses a problem. The infodemic surrounding the novel coronavirus highlights the urgency of the topic. A nuanced and comprehensive discourse on disinformation is crucial, and it is no longer adequate to discuss disinformation as a problem predominantly concerning social media platforms and politics. Addressing the issue can only be achieved by a society as a whole: we need broad social discourse and cannot outsource the solution to social media companies alone. This paper includes six recommendations designed to provide guidelines for political decisions and as a basis for further discourse." (Executive summary, page 4)
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"The following key principles, based on human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights and values of indigenous peoples as indicated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), will inspire the future Global Action Plan for the International Decade of
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Indigenous Languages: Centrality of indigenous peoples – ‘Nothing for us without us’ [...]; compliance with international norms and standards [...]; joint action, ‘Delivering as One’, for efficient and coherent delivery across the UN system [...]; multi-stakeholder partnerships at all levels [...]; a holistic approach in programming [...]" (Key principles, page 4)
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"The Expert Commission for the Eighth Government Report on Older People has identified the digital technologies relevant to several areas of life, singled out emerging new developments and assessed how such developments are having an impact on life in old age. The publication summarises the Commissi
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on’s findings and recommendations." (Publisher description)
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"Although the Proclamation has good intentions of curbing hate speech in Ethiopia, it fundamentally restricts freedom of expression online and the right to information. Further, the proclamation has a chilling effect on online and offline rights, which could lead to self-censorship. For instance, jo
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urnalist Yayesew Shimelis was on April 21, 2020 arrested for allegedly attempting to incite violence by spreading false information contrary to article 5 of the Proclamation and charged by the high court Lideta branch. The government should accordingly repeal or amend the law to ensure that it promotes an online and offline environment that progressively facilitates the enjoyment of free speech and access to information in line with international and regional human rights instruments." (Page 4)
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"Disinformation and misinformation about COVID-19 is quickly and widely disseminated across the Internet, reaching and potentially influencing many people. This policy brief derives four key actions that governments and platforms can take to counter COVID-19 disinformation on platforms, namely: 1) s
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upporting a multiplicity of independent fact-checking organisations; 2) ensuring human moderators are in place to complement technological solutions; 3) voluntarily issuing transparency reports about COVID-19 disinformation; and 4) improving users’ media, digital and health literacy skills." (Page 1)
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"1) Any definition of disinformation in legislation or other regulation, such as regulatory guidance, must take into account the serious implications for freedom of expression and media freedom. Particularly to the extent that provisions on disinformation have been adopted in criminal law, a precise
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definition is paramount. This is even more important following the basic principle of criminal law, which prescribes that penalties only may be imposed when the criminal behaviour and the applicable penal sanctions within the upper and lower limits are precisely formulated in the law. Scholars and fundamental rights experts have warned that disinformation is an “extraordinarily elusive concept to define in law”, and is “susceptible to providing executive authorities with excessive discretion to determine what is disinformation, what is a mistake, what is truth”. Further, measures to combat disinformation “must never prevent journalists and media actors from carrying out their work or lead to content being unduly blocked on the Internet.” Indeed, the European Commission has warned that laws on disinformation which are “too broad” raise particular concerns as regards freedom of expression, and can lead to self-censorship. Given the dangers associated with defining disinformation in legislation, great caution should be exercised in enacting a definition. 2) Current national approaches are very divergent, which from a Digital Single Market and market freedom perspective can create problems for the freedom of the media to disseminate information across borders. This clearly demonstrates a further need for considering all options of handling more unified concepts. 3) Where disinformation is sought to be defined, common elements of a more unified approach to defining disinformation should be: (a) false or misleading information, (b) disseminated with a specific intention (malicious or bad faith) (c) and has the ability to cause certain public harms." (Recommendations, page 85)
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"A dual training programme for professional journalism, as has long been practised in various European and non-European countries, does not yet exist in Afghanistan. It aims to combine theory and simulation of practice at institutes of tertiary education through a vocational training course with an
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integrative design but which is completed externally in an editorial office (following the model of journalism programmes, for example, at German universities). This dual training programme aims to qualify as an academically certified journalist, recognised by professional associations and media fields. The proposal also set out to recommend further academic qualifications for journalism lecturers and professional training for practising journalists in Afghanistan, as well as recommendations for the legal, administrative and practical and/or administrative steps required for the medium-term establishment and trials of the model." (Preface)
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"The importance of journalism’s role in society is beyond debate. Particularly in so-called fragile states, the social responsibility of media and journalism cannot be denied. Journalism education must account for the high level of skills required by journalists, and the ‘mediation’ function o
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f journalists in fragile states should be conceptualised. Responding to dynamic developments in the Afghan media landscape and the resulting need for high-quality journalism education, this article proposes a reform model for journalism education on a tertiary level in Afghanistan. Based on research as well as a needs and feasibility assessment following the participatory action research (PAR) approach, target models and an implementation plan for educational reform were developed. This provides a potential blueprint for reforms in journalism education in fragile states, which considers social and cultural values and interests in the local context while drawing on the perspective of the outsider. This article presents the results of a project entitled 'Professionalisation of Journalism Education on a Tertiary Level in Afghanistan', which resulted in a manual." (Abstract)
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"This paper is written for the purpose of creating a roadmap to support press freedom and freedom of expression in the Afghan reconciliation process. Afghan Journalist Safety Committee (AJSC) prepared the document in collaboration with Afghan media representatives. The sole purpose of the roadmap is
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to protect and preserve press freedom and freedom of expression as fundamental principles and values in Afghanistan and as two of the most significant achievements of the past two decades." (Page 2)
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"[...] Integrity Action has been exploring this question through conversations with civil society representatives, government, researchers, and citizens. During 2020 we interviewed 25 figures from sectors including social accountability, open government, and civic tech, and combined this with feedba
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ck from CSOs, government officials and citizens taking part in some of our projects. The majority of the contributors were from the Global South. We combined this with a literature review covering around 200 shortlisted research, policy and evaluation reports from a variety of fields. We were not only asking how citizen-centred accountability (CCA) mechanisms can be made to last, but also asking more broadly whether and when sustainability should be pursued, and what sustainability looks like in social accountability. In addition, we explored particular issues of relevance to sustained impact, including incentives for key stakeholders, the importance (or otherwise) of independence from the service provider, the use of technology, and inclusion. The purpose of this note is to begin to break down and make sense of some of the different perspectives on sustainability we have encountered though these discussions, as the first of a number of contributions on the topic over the coming months. Together, these contributions aim to offer a range of insights for different stakeholders: for donors thinking about long term funding horizons and different models they might want to support; for practitioners thinking about the kinds of questions to consider when designing CCA programmes and mechanisms; and for academics and experts, as a modest contribution to our collective understanding of the value of CCA more generally." (Page 1)
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"European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2020 on strengthening media freedom: the protection of journalists in Europe, hate speech, disinformation and the role of platforms (2020/2009(INI))." (Introduction)
"Myanmar was originally portrayed as an internet success story. Connected in a matter of months after five decades of military dictatorship, Myanmar people were supposed to be able to communicate freely, access unimpeded information online, experience the benefits of a range of compelling and empowe
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ring digital services, and connect with the world. While social media opened up the country’s information and communication ecosystem in an unprecedented way, it also came with its share of challenges. Low levels of digital and media literacy, amidst a context of political transition, dominated by rising inter-communal tensions and the formalisation of a Buddhist nationalist movement, made for a dangerous cocktail. Facebook, which came to dominate the Myanmar internet ecosystem, failed to acknowledge and effectively mitigate the risks, letting its platform get abused and weaponised. This case study looks at the role of Facebook in fomenting violence in Myanmar. It explores how the social media platform was weaponised, reviews Facebook’s response to the situation, and draws learnings and recommendations for how risks may be better mitigated, moving forward." (Introduction)
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"Social media’s relationship with violent conflict is complex; there is no simple cause-effect relationship. These ten case studies indicate that there are a variety of factors at play that im-pact how social media affects conflict dynamics. This report documents an array of observable patterns as
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published in ten policy briefs (see links above). We argue there is a “techtonic shift” happening; people are using technology in ways that exacerbate some of the most concerning trends and challenges inhibiting democracy and fueling violent conflict. 1. Social media is a double-edged sword having both good and bad effects on society [...] 2. Social media is a “strategic space” for diverse stakeholders [...] 3. Fundamental characteristics of digital communication seem to be responsible for both negative and positive social media impacts [...] 4. The unique profit motives, design, and algorithms of social media platforms seem to be responsible for some of the problems related to social media, democracy and conflict [...] 5. Social media technology aggravates and enflames existing neurological, social, and institutional vulnerabilities [...] 6. Negative social media impacts seem to interact with each other ... 7. There are observable patterns between online speech and digitally enflamed threats to democracy and direct violence [...] 8. Because of the complex system driving negative social media impacts, a multi-stakeholder approach is necessary to address social media threats." (Pages 3-7)
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"The Internews approach to addressing COVID-19 is deeply rooted in our new strategy, which calls for building the five elements of a healthy information environment. These are: 1. Good, accurate, evidence-based information; 2. That everyone can access safely; 3. That consumers know how to critically
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assess; 4. That is valued by communities and sustained by business models that work; and 5. Where governments and businesses are accountable for keeping it that way." (Page 3)
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"In this report, Human Rights Watch documents 33 cases between 2016 and 2020 in which authorities in areas controlled by the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have arrested, brought charges against, and sentenced journalists, activists, and other dissenting voices under
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these legal provisions. Thirteen of these cases involved individuals covering or supporting protest activities. Seven cases involved individuals writing in mainstream or social media about state corruption, a major concern motivating protesters in 2019 and 2020. Iraq’s parliament should amend laws and penal code articles that limit free speech in ways that are inconsistent with international law. Iraqi federal authorities and the Kurdistan Regional Government should direct security forces to end intimidation, harassment, and assault as well as arrests of journalists and others for exercising their right to free expression." (Back cover)
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"The three main ecosystems fundamental to the Montenegro digital transformation journey are the national innovation ecosystem, the entrepreneur ecosystem, and the technology ecosystem. These three ecosystems interlink closely to form the innovation landscape, from ideation to market. Each ecosystem
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faces both specific and common challenges, but each also offers opportunity. The following section presents a snapshot of each ecosystem and concludes with an overview of challenges and opportunities relevant to all three ecosystems." (Key points, page 11)
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"• General public health emergency legislation should not allocate broad discretion to public authorities to limit the right to information through subordinate legal rules but should, instead, subject this to a requirement that any restriction is either “necessity” or “strictly required by t
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he exigencies of the situation”, and is also quite clear regarding how the right to information is being limited.
• No blanket suspensions of the right to information, including blanket time limit extensions for responding to requests for information, should be imposed during emergencies. Instead, emergency provisions should establish the conditions for extending time limits on a case-by-case basis in response to individual requests.
• No limits should be imposed on requests for information related to the emergency and government responses to it, especially where the purpose of the request is to disseminate this information to the public. Better practice is to prioritise these requests, for example by responding more quickly than the law requires.
• Any limits on the right to information should be reviewed regularly and limited in duration to the period during which emergency conditions justify them.
• During a health emergency, necessary changes to the way in which information is recorded and stored should be introduced to ensure that there is no loss of continuity in the recording of government decisions and actions.
• Where an emergency continues for more than the short term, any limits to the right to information that were introduced early on should be lifted or downgraded as soon as possible." (Executive summary, page iii)
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"Los distintos capítulos y temas que forman el engranaje de este plan de comunicación tendrán un alcance muy ambicioso y se contempla inicie su aplicación a partir de enero del año 2021 extendiéndose hasta septiembre del 2023, estructurada en tres etapas. El primer capítulo explica la justifi
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cación de nuestro plan de comunicación y se resume de forma concisa y precisa por qué se ha elegido diseñar este necesario plan de comunicación para la CED. En el segundo capítulo el enfoque se dirige a la auditoría inicial realizada, la cual incluye la investigación sobre los antecedentes de la institución, estructura, gestión de la comunicación, análisis de la noticiabilidad de la organización, medios digitales, entre otras informaciones. En el tercer capítulo se establecen los objetivos generales y objetivos específicos, y en el cuatro, se delimitan los públicos internos y externos con los cuales se relaciona la institución. En el quinto capítulo se definen los argumentarios y contraargumentarios, las estrategias de comunicación y las acciones propuestas para llevar a cabo la estrategia. En el sexto capítulo, se detalla la inversión que se requiere para la aplicación del plan, en el séptimo, la calendarización de las acciones, en el octavo, las conclusiones y, finalmente, las futuras líneas de investigación para desarrollar en un próximo plan de comunicación." (Introducción, página 9-10)
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